


A Bloodied and Battered Figure

by Jason_Grayson



Category: DCU, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Bad Puns, M/M, Past Barbara Gordon/Dick Grayson, Past Dick Grayson/Koriand'r, Past Rape/Non-con, Past Relationship(s), Psychological Torture, Torture, nightwing 93
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-21
Updated: 2017-11-21
Packaged: 2019-02-05 03:59:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12786495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jason_Grayson/pseuds/Jason_Grayson
Summary: Dick finds himself captured and tortured, and Jason is there for him in the aftermath.





	A Bloodied and Battered Figure

Jason was not having a good night. Scratch that, he was having a _terrible_ night. A fact he blamed entirely on Replacement and Demon Spawn. They had cornered him on a rooftop early in his patrol, asking if he knew where Dick was, which was weird considering Jason didn’t even know he was missing. This was what he got for barely associating with the family. He missed out on big news.

Like Dick not being on speaking terms with the family. And now he was gone. Dropped off the map. Vanished. Missing.

_For a week._

So, of course Jason was distracted when trying to stop what should have been a run of the mill drug deal. Instead, his distraction earned him bloody knuckles, a bullet to the shoulder, and what he hoped was just a sprained ankle. He could not afford it to be broken - not if he was going to find Dick. To do that, he needed to patch himself up. He wasn’t going to get far with his ankle though, and briefly considered contacting one of the bats, but decided he dealt with them enough for one night. Racking his brain, he finally remembered Dick had an apartment nearby.

By the time he disabled security, and dragged himself through the window, his entire body was protesting even the tiniest of movements. Unfortunately, he didn’t get a chance to relax as he noticed the bathroom light on, the door cracked open. It seemed the universe just didn’t want to cut him a break tonight. Fan- _fucking-_ tastic. Letting out a quiet sigh, he pulled out one of his guns, and slowly approached the bathroom. As he got closer, he heard what sounded like grunts of pain, and labored breathing. Tensing, he raised his gun slightly higher, and eased open the door. The anxiousness quickly left him as he registered just who was sitting on the edge of the tub, patching up what looked to be a knife wound on his side.

Maybe the universe didn’t _totally_ hate him.

“Dick?” Lowering his gun, Jason leaned against the door frame to get some weight off his ankle, and fully took in the sight of the man before him. His Nightwing costume - what was left of it anyway - was undone, bunched around his waist to reveal a chest littered with bruises. Some were a sickly green and yellow, while others were dark purple, obviously fresh. There also looked to be cuts, and slashes scattered about here and there, the bad ones newly stitched up. His arms were also covered in slashes and cuts, and his wrists were wrapped in bandages. And were those splints on like three of his fingers? His face wasn’t much better, what with his split lip, dark bags under his eyes, splint on what he figured was a broken nose, and what looked to be a healing bruise on his jaw. “You look like shit.”

Dick rolled his eyes, letting out a derisive snort. “Astute observation there, Jay. I can really tell you learned a lot from the World’s Greatest Detective.” His voice sounded hoarse, and scratchy.

“And here I was, about to offer you assistance. Now though, you can just forget it, Dickhead.” He shifted against the door frame, trying to get more weight off of his ankle, and holstering his gun. He removed his helmet and domino, and tried very hard to go for nonchalance, but he was sure some concern was slipping onto his face. That irked him to no end. He had a reputation to uphold, goddamnit.

If Dick noticed the worry, he didn’t comment on it. “I was just about done, anyway.” Giving a slight shrug, he finished stitching up his wound, before fully turning to Jason, eyes roving over him, assessing his damage in much the same way Jason had. “You on the other hand… Rough night?”

“Now who’s the one showing off their amazing detective skills?” Jason gave him an exaggerated eye roll before narrowing his eyes. “Don’t you dare think you’re getting out of explaining all of _this._ ” He waved his hand in a vague gesture towards the other man.

Sighing, Dick stood up, and gave a resigned nod. “I figured. Let’s head out to the living room. More room that way, and I’ll explain everything while I look at that bullet wound of yours.”

Jason gave a grunt of agreement as he pushed himself off of the door frame, and turned to begin limping back to the living room. He was taken a bit off guard though as Dick came up beside him, and hooked his arm over his shoulders, taking the brunt of his weight as they both stumbled to the living room. Once by the couch, Dick let go of his arm, allowing Jason to flop unceremoniously onto it, helmet tumbling to the ground. It felt fucking _incredible_ to actually get weight off of his ankle, and to finally be able to relax. Though now that that pain had diminished, the pain in his shoulder decided to make itself known. Jason let out a hiss of pain as Dick returned with the first aid kit, and started cutting his jacket and shirt off, and removed his armor.

“Fuck. I really liked that jacket, too,” Jason grit out as Dick turned him to get a better look at his shoulder.

“It’s a bummer.” He wasn’t really replying, too distracted with assessing the bullet wound to care about a jacket. “Good news, the bullet is still fully intact, and it didn’t go very deep in. Should be simple to remove.” Pulling the first aid kit to his lap, he got to work.

After a few moments of silence, Jason huffed out a breath of annoyance. “Dickie.” Once he received a hum of acknowledgment from behind him, he continued, “It’s time to talk.” He felt more than heard the resigned sigh.

“Okay, okay. I guess… you probably heard about me not talking to the family?” He bit his lip - partly in concentration as he cleaned the area around the bullet, partly just a nervous habit.

“Yeah, just heard about that tonight. I almost didn’t believe it. You, not talking to those bat brats?” He gave a small shake of his head in disbelief. “Must have done something pretty bad to piss you off.”

“You don’t know the half of it.”

 

 _Nightwing stared in shock at the warehouse, which was currently burning down to the ground. Those bastards, trafficking_ children, _were able to escape. And now, any possible evidence, like leads as to their other hideouts around Gotham, was all turning into ash. It took months to follow up on this lead, and now. Now, these fuckers were able to continue their business. Continue harming innocent children. If only he had been quicker. Smarter. If only-_

_“You!” He whirled around to face Batman, who was staring as stoic as ever at the flames. “Why did you pull me out!? We had them! They were right there, and now-”_

_“Enough!” Batman turned to face him, jaw clenching with barely concealed fury. “We will discuss this back at the cave.” With that, he whipped around, cape flaring out around him, effectively ending the conversation._

_Dick glared at his retreating back, before casting one final look at the flames. Clenching his fists, he made a vow to make everyone involved pay for this. He turned away abruptly, pulling out his grappling hook to run across the rooftops, back to the alleyway where he left his bike. Hopping onto it, he deliberately took the long way to the cave, hoping to clear his mind a bit. And if it made Bruce angry because he had to wait, well, that was just a plus._

_As he finally pulled into the cave - 30 minutes later than he should have been - he saw Bruce, still in uniform, with his cowl pulled back, sitting at the computer bank with Alfred at his back. Tim and Damian were there as well, already changed out of their uniforms. Dick took his time parking, stepping off of his bike, and walking over to his family. He didn’t care if he was being petty. He was_ furious _, and honestly was barely holding it in at this point._

_“Well, would you look at this? The gang’s all here.” Anger seeped into his tone as he gave them all a sardonic grin while peeling off his domino mask._

_Bruce was apparently not in the mood for his attitude, stony expression on his face as he turned around. Sucks for him, Dick was definitely in the mood for some attitude. “What was that back there?”_

_Dick shrugged, and crossed his arms. “Uh, I was doing my job? Something you should have been doing as well, but instead, you stopped me and let those monsters escape.” He dug his fingers into his arms, hard enough for him to feel it through his uniform._

_“That was you doing your job?” Bruce arched an eyebrow, outwardly calm, but his temper was quickly flaring, evident by the small downward quirk of his lips. “If I hadn’t pulled you out of there, you could’ve gotten injured, or worse-"_

_“Who cares about me!? They are trafficking children! Selling them off to the highest bidder to do God knows what! If I could have stopped that-" His fury was finally escaping, his voice rising._

_Bruce matched him in volume. “If you had stopped, and listened before being reckless and impulsive, you would know Tim found out that they are just a small part of a larger operation. There would be no point in-”_

_“Like hell there wouldn’t be! Sure, It’s just one part, but that’s still a hit to the operation. It’s still fucking worth it to take them out!”_

_They both stared each other down in silence, daring the other to break it. Bruce was the one to do so. “You could learn a thing or two from Tim.”_

_Now that. That seemed to be the breaking point. Dick stared at him, eyes wide before they narrowed in a glare. “You want to repeat that?”_

_Bruce returned the glare. “Tim wouldn’t be nearly as impulsive, or rash. He would analyze the whole situation, make a plan-"_

_“I’m going to stop you right there, Bruce. In case you haven’t noticed, I am not Tim. I will never be Tim. You may have given them my colors, my_ name _,” both of which still stung at times like this, with his emotions running high. “But we are nothing alike. I'm sorry I'm not always the perfect Golden Boy you want me to be.” He gave a derisive snort. “Huh, guess I finally get how Jason feels.”_

_Seeing the barely concealed anger radiating from Bruce, Tim decided to step in. “Dick, no one is asking you to be like me. It just would have been more beneficial to have made a plan before just jumping in like that.”_

_Damian gave a nod as he stared disapprovingly at Dick. “I hate to agree with Drake, but he is right. We expect this sort of behavior from Todd, but you were supposed to be better than that.”_

_Glancing between Bruce, and his brothers, Dick’s features shifted first into one of shock - amazed that everyone was so against him, disappointed in him - before shifting into a scowl. “Well, maybe Jason isn’t always completely wrong.” Putting his domino back on, Dick cast them all one final look. “I’m sorry I'm just committed to helping people. I thought we were all committed to that, no matter the cost. I guess I was wrong.” He walked back over to his bike, got on, and peeled out of the cave, no one stopping him, or going after him._

 

As Dick finished up his story, he also finished stitching up Jason’s shoulder. Jason let out a low whistle, “Wow. That’s… intense.”

“You are just on a roll with these observations tonight, Little Wing! Really. Keep it up, I'm proud of you.” Dick snickered as he shifted to the floor to remove Jason’s boot so he could examine his ankle.

“Yeah, yeah. Fuck you too, Dickiebird.” He winced as his boot and sock were pulled off, revealing his swollen ankle.

Dick began prodding all around, checking to see if it was broken, or just a sprain. Huffing out a breath of relief, he nodded to himself as he stood to get an ice pack from the freezer. “Looks like it’s just a sprain. Which is good, considering I really didn’t want to have to go to the cave tonight.”

Jason mirrored his breath of relief as he wasn’t too keen on visiting the bats either. Besides, he felt oddly pleased that Dick was talking to him, and him only. That he trusted him enough, even stood up for him to Bruce and the others. It just kind of warmed his heart, which was way too fucking sappy for him, so he quickly squashed those thoughts down. Instead, he yelled out to Dick, “Hey, get me a beer too, will ya?” He heard an answering chuckle, and a light ‘Sure.’

Dick walked back with the beer and ice pack, handing the former to Jason, before getting to work wrapping his ankle, and applying the ice pack.

“So, you explained why you weren’t talking to the bats. But that doesn’t actually explain all of… this.” He flapped his hand in a vague gesture towards Dick.

“Well, actually it kinda does as it feeds into what happened next, as the next night, I ran into… Slade Wilson.”

Jason’s eyes widened, unsure if the dramatic pause Dick gave was intentional, or not. He didn’t doubt that it could have been intentional, knowing Dick, but he also couldn’t deny it was damn effective, hooking him into the story.

 

_It had already been a full 24 hours since his fight with the other bats, but Dick was still fuming. Standing on a rooftop, he was looking out over the city, and trying to calm his racing thoughts. He tensed, hearing footsteps approach. Turning around, he dropped into a fighting stance, preparing himself for whoever this visitor was._

_“Now, now. Is that anyway to greet an old friend?” Deathstroke stepped out from the shadows, like some kind of cliche super villain._

_Dick didn’t ease up in the slightest as he narrowed his eyes. “I would hardly consider us friends. Maybe frenemies, but even that might be stretching it.”_

_Casually leaning against the door to the roof exit of the building, Slade shrugged as he removed his mask. “Seems like currently, I’m really the only one that can help you. If that isn’t friendship, I’m not sure what is.”_

_Dick gave a disbelieving snort- he was absolutely sure Slade didn’t know the meaning of friendship. “Oh, yeah? Please, enlighten me. How can_ you _help me?”_

_“Well, I know where those traffickers went, for one.” At Dick’s silence, he chuckled, and shrugged again. “Not to mention, working with me would seriously piss off the Bat, who I heard, you are not on good terms with right now.”_

_“How did you-" He shook his head. This was Slade- of course he knew. “You don’t honestly think I would work with you, do you?”_

_Slade pushed himself off the door, and stalked closer to Dick, who tensed even further, causing the older man to smirk. “Actually, yes. I know they hurt you. Betrayed you. Made you… angry.” His smirk shifted into a wicked grin. “Wouldn’t you just love to make them pay for that?”_

_Dick hated that he was still listening to this. That he was actually considering Slade’s offer. He knew this was a terrible idea. It would only end badly. He couldn’t trust Slade. But, on the other hand, he was the only one that had a lead on the traffickers. The only one that could help take them out. And pissing off Bruce and the others seemed like too good of a prospect, at the moment. Dick straightened a bit, yet stayed on the defensive. “If we do this, we do it my way. Which means no killing.”_

_Grinning wider, Slade stepped ever closer, a single step separating them. “Of course. Anything for you.” He stuck out a hand, as if to shake on their new partnership._

_Staring at the hand, Dick had to stifle a hysterical laugh. He was making a deal with the devil, and now all that was left was to shake on it. This was a terrible idea. He knew this, yet thinking back once again to the fight he had with his family, the thoughts of innocent children being sold like cattle, his resolve was hardened. He shook Slade’s hand._

_Slade let out a bark of laughter as he used the shake to pull Dick closer, dropping his voice to whisper in his ear, “We are going to have_ so _much fun together.”_

_Yeah, worst fucking idea ever._

 

Jason snorted at that. “Yeah, not one of your brightest moments there. And that’s coming from me.”

Dick rolled his eyes as he collapsed on the couch next to Jason. “Gee, thanks, Jay. Rub it in more, please. I love to hear how badly I fucked up.”

“Hey, got to take them where I can, Golden Boy.” His grin faded slowly as he considered something. “One thing I have to know though.” At Dick’s questioning look, he continued, “Why didn’t you come to me? Ask me for help? You know I would have helped take those assholes down.” He hated to admit that it honestly kind of a hurt a little. Sure, he was still on rocky ground with everyone, but he was honestly trying. As much as he cared to, anyway. Mostly, he just wanted Dick to trust him again, to truly be his Little Wing again. Even if he knew that was impossible. God, he hated feeling this vulnerable. He blamed all of these feelings coming to the surface entirely on his injuries, and the emotional rollercoaster he was on tonight.

Dick blinked at him, trying to carefully choose his words, catching the brief flash of hurt in Jason’s eyes. “I just figured, you don’t like really talking to the rest of the family… I thought that included me. Not to mention, Slade caught me off guard, when my mind was still racing, and an absolute mess.” A pause, then, “That’s not to say my mind isn’t always a mess, but you know what I mean.” Hesitantly, Dick reached out, laying his good hand atop Jason’s. “I know you’re trying to do better, Jay. I would have absolutely come to you if I had thought about it, been in a better place. I trust you. I swear, I do.”

Briefly closing his eyes, Jason allowed himself to enjoy the bit of contact- Dick _noticed_ he’s been trying- before huffing out a laugh. “Okay, Dickie. I believe you. But back to you. How did the inevitable betrayal come about?”

Dick nodded, and squeezed Jason’s fingers. “Ah, yes. That.” He tried to steel his resolve, knowing this was going to be one of the hardest parts to talk about, for multiple reasons. Swallowing thickly, and taking a deep breath, he pressed on.

 

_It didn’t take long for the inevitable betrayal to happen. Longer than Dick had originally thought, but still pretty damn fast. Two nights, to be exact. Two nights from making that stupid deal with Slade. Three nights from cutting off contact with his family. It felt like years._

_Dick and Slade stood on the rooftop of a run-down building on the outskirts of the city. Slade had said there was a meet going on tonight, finally giving Nightwing his opening to take down this operation. They had already been waiting for 3 hours though, and Dick was getting antsy. He bounced on the balls of his feet, keeping an eye on the alley below them. “It feels like we’ve been here for years. Are you sure something’s going down tonight?”_

_“Of course I’m sure. You know, you should really learn some patience.” Slade shook his head, moving to crouch on the edge of the building, joining Dick in looking down at the alleyway._

_Slade’s words made Dick scowl, as they echoed too close to the fight he just had with the others that caused this whole mess in the first place. Before he could respond though, Slade continued with, “You can stop your whining. It’s showtime!” He flashed Dick a wry grin as he stood up, and pulled his mask on._

_“Took them long enough.” Right as he was about to jump off into the alley below, he was pushed back from the edge, and pinned to the ground by Slade. He felt a sharp pain in the side of his neck, before his vision started to blur around the edges._

_“Sorry, kid. It’s just business. Hope you understand.”_

_The last thought that passed through his mind before losing consciousness was that he just hated everything. So much._

 

_When he next woke, it was to see he was chained to the wall. He quickly took note of his surroundings, but his movements and thoughts still felt sluggish. The first thing he registered was that his domino was still on, which was a relief. That relief quickly disappeared though as he saw his gauntlets, weapons, and boots were missing. He briefly wondered how they were taken off, until he remembered Slade. The constant thorn in his side probably knew how to deactivate his security. Once he was talking to his family again, he would have to ask Tim to help up his security. He knew they should have just put the same security level on the rest of his suit as was on his domino, but oh well. Too late now._

_There wasn’t much in the room besides a dingy overhead light, a chair off in the corner, and a camera in another. Rage and annoyance surged through him. Giving the chains an experimental yank, he noticed his body was aching. He quickly looked down, and cringed to see slashes in his uniform, cuts slowly bleeding, and bruises already forming. Licking his lips, he winced as he tasted blood. He needed to get out of here._

_His features quickly shifted into a grimace as the door was yanked open, making a loud, screeching noise, and light that was much brighter flooded the room. Once the door closed again, his eyes adjusted to see a man standing before him. He recognized him as one of the top guys in the operation, but he couldn’t for the life of him, remember the guy’s name. So that was great. Grinning at the man, Dick nodded down at himself. “Please, don’t be intimidated by my bloody and battered figure. If I had known I was having visitors, I would have tried to clean up a bit more.” He took another look around the small room. “Seriously, look at this place! I have failed as a host.”_

_The man did not look amused. He roughly grabbed a fistful of Dick’s hair, forcing his head up to a painful angle. “Word on the street is, you know who the Batman is. You’re going to tell us everything you know.”_

_Dick just arched an eyebrow. “Oh, really?” He tilted his head from side to side, before grinning once again. “Now, why would I do a thing like that? That would just be plain batty.”_

_That earned him a punch in the face. Working his jaw to make sure it wasn’t broken, he spit out some blood before chuckling. “Not much of a pun guy, huh? We aren’t going to be friends, then. I have just so many puns. I even have more bat related ones, if you’d like.” He received a knee in the gut for that one._

_“I would start taking this seriously, Nightwing. No one knows you’re here, and Slade gave us some interesting toys to play with.”_

_Nodding, Dick lifted his head back up, serious expression on his face. “Okay. You know, you’re really good at this. Better than Peter Pan, anyway. His punches Neverland. Eh? Eh? Thought you would like it since it isn’t bat related.” He was grinning once again, but it was quickly replaced as the man kicked him in the ankle, causing his foot to slide backwards, the only thing keeping him upright were the chains on his wrists. He worked to get his feet back under him, chains cutting into his wrists, blood beginning to run down his arms. It really didn’t help his situation that his movements were still slow, and clumsy. Whatever Slade gave him was high grade stuff._

_“You just never shut up, do you?” the man angrily spat out as he watched Dick struggle._

_Once he was back on his feet, Dick managed a smile- albeit strained- and rolled his eyes though he knew the man couldn’t see it. “First you want me to talk, then you want me to shut up. Make up your mind, man!”_

_The man narrowed his eyes, before abruptly turning on his heel, marching over to the door, and knocking once. Another man came in, wheeling in a cart with various instruments atop it._

_“Let’s make this pretty bird sing, shall we?” The second man eyed the tools with a critical eye before picking up a surgical knife._

_Dick tensed, as the second man looked to the first, who nodded once. He nodded back, stepping closer. The tip of the knife pressed into a point on Dick’s chest, cutting past his uniform, and pushed in enough to cause a bit of blood to ooze out. “Do you want to talk, or sing first, pretty bird?”_

_Attempting to calm his breathing, Dick tried for a nonchalant, lopsided smile as he glanced down at the point of the knife. “I have been told my singing voice is quite...  on point. A real cut above the rest.”_

_The second man smiled back. “Let’s test that theory then.” Keeping the pressure consistent, the knife was moved agonizingly slow in a straight line down Dick’s chest, causing screams to be ripped from him. After a few pain filled moments, silence only broken by screams of anguish, the knife was removed. This time, the point pressed into an already existing cut. “Ready to talk now, or should I keep going?”_

_Panting heavily, Dick slowly raised his head back up from where it had dropped down. Cringing through the resounding sting from the cut, he managed to spit out, “You guys... really don’t like... my jokes, huh? Must be… pretty laughtose intolerant.”_

_Instead of responding, the man started moving the blade down once again, tracing the existing cut, brilliant red easing out underneath the blade. This back and forth repeated for quite a while longer, until Dick was hanging limply from the chains, head dropped forward. His chest was covered in long slashes, all bleeding in various degrees. None of them were deep enough for him to bleed out, of course. They still needed him alive, after all. That didn’t stop them from hurting like hell, and once again, Dick was left to seriously consider what fucked up life decisions led him to this point in time. He was dragged out of his thoughts as he heard the blade clatter against the tray, now covered in his blood, and splattering the other tools that were laying next to it._

_The first man talked quietly to the second before turning back to Dick. “So, still not wanting to talk. That’s fine. We are only just getting started.” Following his movements, Dick saw the man pick up another tool from the tray. His eyes widened as he realized what it was- a crowbar._

_Slapping the crowbar against his palm, the man stared at Dick with a critical eye. “Your friend told us a very interesting story involving a crowbar.” He stepped closer, sadistic grin on his face. “A Robin apparently died by means of crowbar. Now, we didn’t know if we could exactly trust your friend, seeing as we didn’t even know there were different Robins-"_

_“There aren’t,” Dick ground out with as much conviction as possible, eyes narrowing behind his mask._

_“See, that’s not exactly true though, is it? We weren’t really paying attention before, but looking back, there are differences between these Robins. It’s kind of amazing no one noticed before. And one of them died from this.” He lazily waved the crowbar around. “We figured it was only right that you experience what that poor little bird went through as well.”_

_At the first hit against his side, Dick yelled out, the emotions hitting him like a freight train. With each hit, the same thoughts rushed through his mind- Jason went through this pain. This was part of how Jason_ died, _this piece of metal which was now hitting him repeatedly with such force. This piece of metal helped claim the life of his Little Wing. The hits, and thoughts, blinded him with pain, making him yell out much louder than the knife had._

 _After what felt like the millionth hit, the man stopped, and examined the blood-soaked metal with glee. “Now that was stress relieving! I understand now why this was used to kill Robin. It’s just so damn_ satisfying! _” He spoke in such a cheery voice, it made Dick clench his jaw as fury, frustration, and sorrow radiated from him in waves._

_“Ah, no witty retorts to that? Hit a sore spot, did we?” At Dick’s continual silence, the man just chuckled, and dropped the crowbar on the ground so Dick would have to stare at the tool, blood covering it and splattered around it. “That’s fine, we’ll give you a bit of time to think it over. Reconsider talking. After all, you don’t want this happening to another Robin, do you? It could probably be arranged.” Hearing the threat, Dick aimed such a deadly glare at the man that if looks could kill, that would be it. Figures it was partially hidden by his mask._

_As it was, the man just chuckled again, nodding at the other man before leading the way to the door. He knocked twice, stepping through once it was opened, the second man following. The door closed behind them with a resounding clang, leaving Dick in silence, except for his shaking breaths. He continued his glaring before dropping his gaze down to the bloody crowbar at his feet. His vision started to blur with tears that he refused to let fall. He wouldn’t give these fuckers the satisfaction._

_He was going to make sure they all paid for this. Every. Last. One. Of. Them._

 

Dick took in a shaky breath, knowing this was only the beginning on explaining his torture to Jason. He needed a moment to collect his thoughts before he could continue. Closing his eyes, he let out a sigh as he felt Jason’s hand shift so their fingers were locked. Small circles began to be rubbed into the back of his hand by Jason’s thumb.

Hearing the story was hard on Jason as well. It took everything in him not to stand up from the couch, and hunt every one down that was involved in causing Dick pain. He would kill them all. Stretch the kills out, until they were practically begging for death. Right now though, he tried to keep his touch as gentle possible, knowing Dick needed him. Jason almost snorted at the thought that he was the one providing comfort to anyone, especially Dick, the clingy, cinnamon roll of the group. He was able to contain it, though it was a close call.

“You don’t need to continue, Dick.” Jason would be damned if he didn’t give Dick an out, seeing as it was clearly hard for him to talk about. Not to mention, Jason knew all about suppressing traumatic things. They all did. It wouldn’t be anything new, even if it was unhealthy. “Seriously, don’t… don’t put yourself through this, just for me.”

Shaking his head, Dick’s eyes reopened, pain evident in his eyes. “No. No, I want you to know. I _need_ someone to know, to make it- I don’t know. Real, I guess?”

Jason gave a slight nod, continuing to rub circles into Dick’s hand. “Okay, then.”

Taking a deep breath in, Dick continued on.

 

_It was unclear just how much time had passed. Dick continued to stare at that damn crowbar until he slipped into unconsciousness. When he woke up again, it was to the door opening, the second man from before strolling in. “How are we feeling today, pretty bird?”_

_Dick finally tore his gaze away from the crowbar, and gave as much of a shrug as he could. “You know, just hanging out.”_

_“Ah, so you’re back to the jokes. The boss was so sure that he had beat it out of you, too.” He stalked closer, examining the tools on the tray once more._

_“My humor is ingrained into my personality. It’s going to take much more than that.” His gaze slipped back down to the crowbar, and he had to suppress his shudder. He had to keep a level head here, keep on the lookout for an escape. Revenge would come later. Grinning, he lifted his gaze back up._

_The man nodded, and grinned back. “Well, we’re getting a new toy today! Maybe that will do the trick.” He gave a signal to the camera in the corner. A few moments later, another cart was wheeled in. This tray had about four syringes on it. The man picked up one, turning it around in his fingers as he examined it. “This is a concoction given to us by Scarecrow. Apparently, your friend just knows all the right people!”_

_Scarecrow? That meant fear toxin. It would suck, but it was nothing he hadn’t dealt with before. That thought allowed Dick to just roll his eyes. “Yeah, he’s something alright. So, you gonna stick it to me?” At the look the man gave him, Dick chuckled. “Really, I have a fear of needles. They just get under my skin, ya know?”_

_The man shook his head and tapped the syringe. “Your jokes are sharp, I'll give you that.” He groaned as he played back what he said. “Pun not intended, I assure you.”_

_“Fine. Suture self.” He continued to grin at the man, until he stepped closer. Eyeing the needle warily, he asked, “What exactly is that anyway?” He was pretty sure it was just fear toxin, but if Slade was involved, it might have been upped, which honestly was just a tad worrying._

_Looking at the syringe, then back at Dick, the man shrugged. “I’m not entirely sure, pretty bird. Why don’t we test it out?” A sadistic grin grew on the man’s face as he stuck the needle into Dick’s neck._

_At first, nothing seemed to happen. Dick opened his mouth to make a joke about how it seemed this injection was in vein, but he was unable to as the man faded away along with the room. He blinked a few times until he saw his parents standing in front of him. They looked… disappointed, angry, and sad all at once. Dick immediately tensed up as he tried to remember this was just the work of the toxin._

_Those thoughts flew out the window as his mother reached forward, and brushed his bangs back. It all felt so_ real.

_“My little robin,” Mary whispered, caressing his face._

_Shuddering, Dick closed his eyes, trying to brace himself for the worst. He knew this was fake, and he knew that this pleasant moment wouldn’t last. It was so hard to not give in. Not give in to the featherlight touch, or the whispered words of his mother. When his father began to hum the lullaby he used to always sing to him, Dick was sure he was going to lose it. Give in completely. He couldn’t handle this pain, seeing his parents again, having this love again. It was all too much._

_The sweet moment didn’t last for long though as the hand petting him stilled. He opened his eyes to see his mother glaring at him. The hand in his hair tightened, and pushed his head back against the wall. Dick tried to focus as his vision swam, tried to focus on the words his mom was yelling at him._

_“You dress up each night in this ridiculous outfit thinking you can actually save anyone? You couldn’t save us!” Mary shouted, face in a sneer, and slammed Dick’s head against the wall once again._

_Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his father step closer. “You are a disgrace. You let down everyone, why even bother? You’re a failure,” John added, almost in a calm, subdued voice, which somehow hurt worse than Mary’s yelling._

_The grip on his hair was abruptly relinquished, causing his head to fall forward. Blinking rapidly, Dick tried to bring his head back up, and searched frantically for his parents. He let out an involuntary gasp as he saw he was back at Haly’s. Back at the night of his parents’ death. Dick quickly shut his eyes, but he could still see it all so clearly. His parents falling to their deaths over, and over again with him, just as useless as before. All the while, their words echoed in his mind. He was a disappointment, a failure. Even Bruce had said as much- that was what started this all in the first place, after all. And he had no one to blame but himself._

_Dick screamed, screamed until his voice was hoarse, and his throat felt like it was bleeding. It slowly tapered off into sobs that he didn’t care to control, until finally he succumbed to unconsciousness._

At some point, Dick had dropped his head onto Jason’s shoulder. Both were silent as Dick’s words sunk in. “Well, fuck,” Jason said, in an awed whisper, not entirely sure what to say. “Maybe you need this more than I do.” He passed his barely touched beer over to Dick.

Huffing out a laugh, Dick accepted the beer, and took a long drink, allowing Jason to get a look at his face. Dick’s eyes were puffy, and red while his eyes were glassy, and unfocused.

“You know none of that is true, right? There’s a reason I always so affectionately refer to you as Golden Boy, after all.” Jason tried for a smile, but he knew it was a shit excuse for one.

Dick shook his head, passed the beer back, and dropped his head back onto Jason’s shoulder. “Have I ever told you how much I hate that nickname?”

“No. And even if you did, I would probably ignore it. I’ve been told I’m an asshole like that.”

Dick snorted. “Well, I do. Now, shut up. I have more to tell.”

“Wow, bossy much?” He tried to keep his tone light, but he honestly didn’t know how much more of this he could take hearing. He was barely restraining himself as it was, but he tried to just focus on Dick, and how he needed someone right now. And since no one better was around… His plans for murder would just have to wait. Never let it be said that Jason Todd couldn’t be a fucking paragon of restraint when he needed to be. “By all means, continue.”

“Thank you. Now, as you know, there were three more syringes. And I thought I would just get the same hallucination, or just a variation on the same hallucination. I was wrong. So very wrong.”

 

_An indeterminate amount of time later, Dick awoke to the second man from before sitting on a chair in front of him, typing on his phone. The man looked up as he heard the chains rattle. “Finally! You passed out a while ago, it was very annoying. Well, that and the screams. Gave me a headache.” The man stood up from the chair, and stalked closer to Dick. “So, you ready to talk now, pretty bird? Or should we go for round two?” He held up the second needle, wicked glint in his eye._

_Dick struggled to lift his head up, and blearily blinked at the man. “I-" His voice was scratchy, and husky, so he quickly cleared his throat, and tried again. “I can safely say that needles are now the vein of my existence.” He tried to grin, but it became more of a grimace as his chapped lips split, and bled._

_“I do have to give you props. You’re a resilient little bird.” He looked at the needle, almost inspecting it under the dim light in the room. “But, everyone has their breaking point. I wonder what yours will be?”_

_“Who knows? I bounce back from quite a bit.” He pretended to think over his next words before continuing, “You know, I was going to make a flexibility pun, but that might be too much of a stretch.”_

_The man just rolled his eyes before he stepped closer, causing Dick to flinch. That made the man pause as a slow smile stretched across his face. “So, pretty bird is just putting on a brave face? Interesting. Maybe you’re closer to breaking than I thought.”_

_Dick cursed the fact that he flinched, let his weakness show like that. It was a stupid mistake. That drug though, he honestly didn’t know if he could handle more of it. Whatever it was, it clearly was more than just your regular fear toxin. It felt more real than what he usually experienced. Add that with the way it seemed to almost lull him into a false sense of security, and yeah. Yeah, he couldn’t handle that again. He didn’t get much of a choice though as the needle was once again jabbed into his neck._

_Closing his eyes, Dick braced himself for once again being faced with his parents, and their death. Their disappointment, after feeling their love again, of course because why not? Might as well be as traumatic as possible. He was surprised then when he heard a different voice entirely._

_“How have you not broken out by now? You’re supposed to be better than this.”_

_Dick opened his eyes to see Damian, in his full Robin outfit. He blinked a few times, trying to clear the fuzziness from his mind. It didn’t really work. “Little D?” He vaguely registered a voice asking who that was, which helped to ground him a bit, and remember that he wasn’t alone. That realization made him glad that he used a nickname, but it was short lived as he focused back on Damian._

_“Tt. Who else?” Even though he was wearing his domino, Dick could tell he rolled his eyes. “Now move it, Grayson. We need to get out of here.”_

_Dick stayed silent- he knew this hallucination was going to go bad quickly, and he had no desire to push it that way. His hallucination apparently had other ideas as Damian sighed, and moved closer, muttering something about having to do everything himself. He pulled out a lockpick, and began working at the chains. Dick heaved out a breath as he swore he could feel Damian’s fingertips brush against his wrists as he worked on the chains. He tried to remember this wasn’t real, but as with his parents before, it was so easy to give in. His thoughts were cut short as he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. Hallucination or not, Dick was going to warn Damian, but before he got a single sound out, Damian was crumpled in a heap on the floor, clutching his head and groaning._

_Lifting his gaze, Dick reared back from the shock of seeing Tim standing there. He was grinning down at Damian, before turning to lock eyes with Dick. “He was going to ruin our fun, and we’re just getting started.” He stepped more into the light, allowing Dick to see the greasepaint covering his face, eerily reminiscent of a certain clown. The sadistic grin on Tim’s face grew as Dick took in the outfit, and the cane in his hand, the end of it covered in Damian’s blood._

_Following Dick’s gaze, Tim lazily twirled the cane around, happily splattering the blood around as he did so. Dick could swear he felt some land on his cheek, the thought of which made him shudder. “Like the new outfit? The Joker just has a killer fashion sense, don’t ya think?” Dick continued to stare at him in shock. “What? Not even a chuckle for that? I thought you liked puns.” He gave an exaggerated pout as he stopped twirling his cane._

_“What- How…?” He couldn’t get his thoughts out, they were all a jumble. Why was Tim like this? What happened to him? All thoughts of this being fake had left him, and now he was just reeling with shock._

_Tim cocked his head to the side, creepy smile still plastered on his face. “Now, now, Dickie. Isn’t it obvious why I'm this way?” Lifting his cane, he pressed it to Dick’s chest. “It’s because of you.” He began to press in harder, and harder, right into a deep slash on his chest. The cane dug in, slipping in under the skin and stretching it, causing Dick to scream out in agony. “You failed to protect me. You failed to protect him,” he tossed his head in Damian’s direction, “You’re useless. You should have been better. Maybe if you were more like me, you could have been great. Been the hero you were supposed to be.” He gave the cane one final hard shove before pulling it out, and twirling it lazily once more. “I think you get the point, don’t you?”_

_Dick panted, the hurt resonating from his chest causing him to shudder, and twitch. “I’m… I’m so-"_

_“Save it. I don’t want to hear it. Your apologies are almost as pathetic as you.” The grin was back on his face as he continued, “Because of you, this little birdie lost it’s wings. And that must just tear you up inside.” He laughed a strange, haunting laugh that sent chills down Dick’s back. The Joker taught him well, apparently. “How about we have even more fun? Include our little baby bird here? We can prove just how inept you really are.”_

_As Tim moved closer to Damian, who was struggling to stand, Dick tried to plead with him. “Please, you don’t have to do this. I know you’re still in the-"_

_“You know nothing!” Tim shouted as he hit Damian’s back with his cane, causing him to fall again. “You should stick to the puns, Dick. You’re a good joker.” He let out a surprised laugh. “Though I guess that is my job now, huh? Please, be nice. It’s my first solo performance, after all.” He hit Damian once again before rubbing his chin in thought. “Now, pay close attention. I would hate to feel I'm Robin anyone of a good time.” He grinned at Dick as he sent another hit right down on Damian’s head._

_“Stop, stop please!” Dick could feel a tear running down his face as he desperately pulled at the chains. Seeing his brother ruthlessly beat his other brother made him sick to his stomach with guilt, and fear. It was his fault his brothers were in pain, he had to help them before they were both lost to him._

_“That didn’t sound like a laugh. Did that sound like a laugh to you, Damian?” He received a groan in response, and nodded. “Yeah, I didn’t think so.” He swung the cane down onto Damian harder, causing his blood to splatter out against himself, and Dick. “My swings tend to get harder when I feel my jokes aren’t hitting their mark.”_

_Dick couldn’t bring himself to laugh. He knew he had to, to help Damian at least that little bit. His little brother needed him, but he couldn’t do this one thing. He really was useless, once again unable to help his loved ones. “Please…” It was a broken, pathetic,_ weak _plea. Just like him._

_“Nope, wrong answer! You are really bad at this, wow. And I thought Bruce couldn’t take a joke.” He laughed that crazy, hysterical laugh again as he brought down the cane once more._

_Helpless, Dick continued to watch as Tim danced gleefully around Damian’s body, striking out a hard hit every once awhile. He continued to laugh that crazed laugh, making horrible jokes all the while, just having a grand old time. As Dick once again fell into unconsciousness, Tim’s laughter echoed in his ears, along with the squelching of Damian’s body, and the feel of his youngest brother’s blood landing on his exposed skin._

 

Jason stared at the opposite wall for a long while, not responding as he let Dick once again take a breather. In the back of his mind, he realized that Dick had drank his entire beer. He would’ve made a joke about that- he knew Dick preferred fruity drinks- but he figured now wasn’t the time for one of his shitty jokes. His best course of action was probably to wait for Dick to break the silence.

“I drank your beer.”

Jason couldn’t help it- he laughed. It was a hysterical laugh, but he just wasn’t expecting Dick to say that. And it was said so matter-of-factly, so deadpan and monotone. It just seemed like the most hilarious thing in the world to him.

Dick’s lips curved into a small smile of his own as he huffed out a laugh. He was well aware they were both just strung high with emotions, so being able to laugh like this was slightly relieving. Standing up, he asked, “Want another beer?”

Getting his laughter under control, Jason nodded. “Yeah, yeah I do.” He watched Dick walk to the kitchen as he wiped at his eyes. Remembering there were still two more hallucinations, Jason quickly sobered up. There were still two more horrific things Dick had to go through. And they seemed to just be getting worse. His fingers dug almost painfully into his thighs, but he didn’t even register it as Dick walked back with two more beers, handing one to Jason. He murmured out a thanks before taking a swig.

Dick noticed the change in behavior as he once again took a seat next to the younger man. He eyed him carefully as he took a drink, barely registering the taste. Dick realized he was dumping a lot onto Jason, and all at once. Yet he was still here, still listening, still trying to comfort him, even though he could tell he was itching to go out, and kill the guys that had done this. Even if he was trying not to kill anymore. It was sweet, in a twisted kind of way.

“Hey.” Jason paused from drinking to look over at him, question in his eyes. “I don’t think I’ve thanked you yet. For putting up with me, listening to all this whining. So, thank you.” Dick almost turned bashful as he stared down at the beer bottle in his hand, playing with the label as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.

Setting his own beer down on the table, Jason turned to fully face the older man. “Dick, you were tortured. You telling me about that torture, seeking comfort after said torture, hardly constitutes as ‘whining.’” He helped up a finger as Dick made to protest. “And even if it was, I would still be here for you. I may not be the greatest at this emotional shit, but I care about you. Holy fuck, do I care about you. So much, it scares me sometimes if I think on it too much.” He flushed at that admission, blaming it entirely on his emotional turmoil. It seemed to be worth it though, what with the way Dick’s eyes lit up. Jason loved when they did that, and he felt oddly proud that he was the reason for it this time. Making sure to maintain eye contact, he continued, “So, I’ll listen, and I'll be here for as long as you want me to be.”

Dick was stunned for a moment before letting a smile push it’s way onto his face. A real, genuine smile that felt so foreign to him. Which made sense, given he hadn’t smiled in over a week. He pulled Jason into a hug, burying his face in the other man’s neck. “Thank you, Little Wing.”

“Yeah, yeah. Don’t get used to it.” Even as he said the words, he wrapped his arms back around Dick, allowing him to draw whatever comfort he needed from it. And if Jason took some comfort too, well, that wasn’t really anyone’s business.

Eventually, Dick pulled back, and shifted to once again rest his head on Jason’s shoulder. He grabbed his hand again, and squeezed. “Okay, I think I'm ready to continue,” he said in a small voice.

Jason nodded, and squeezed his hand back. Before he thought too much on it, he turned, and pressed a small kiss to Dick’s head. “Whenever you’re ready.”

Dick let a small smile form as he once again continued his story.

_This time when Dick woke, he was alone. He figured he should be grateful for that, but he didn’t want to be alone with his thoughts. Exhaustion was creeping in, his stomach was cramping in hunger, and his throat was dry, each swallow difficult, and burning. Those things were barely registering as the memories of his hallucinations bombarded his mind. He was dreading another one, and knew he needed to escape, but he just couldn’t get his thoughts to focus._

_After what seemed like hours, with Dick still without a plan of escape, the door screeched open once again. The head man from before strolled back in, letting the door swing shut behind him with a resounding clang._

_“Ah, our favorite little bird is awake again. Sorry you had to wake up alone. Pete couldn’t take your screaming.” The man twisted the chair around, sitting on it and crossing his arms over the back. Dick felt a small twinge of relief that the hallucination was staved off just that little bit longer. “So, you ready to give up the big bad Bat, yet? He can’t really be worth all this, right?”_

_Dick was horrified with himself that his first thought was no, he wasn’t. He may be exhausted, but he didn’t want to think he was that terrible, that weak as to give up Bruce. And it wouldn’t just be him, it would be everyone in the family. Hallucination Tim was right, he was pathetic._

_Apparently, Dick was silent for too long, because the man sighed, and shook his head. “We don't want to do this to you, Nightwing. Really. We want this over with as much as you do.”_

_“Yeah, I highly doubt that,” Dick mumbled, before gathering his resolve, and locking gazes with the man. “You don’t honestly think I'm going to tell you anything, right? If so, you really are a dingbat.”_

_The man sighed again, stood up from the chair, and picked up the third syringe. “Round three it is then.” And once again, the needle was pushed into his neck._

_This time around, Dick didn’t even try to fight. Keeping his eyes wide open, he stared warily ahead, waiting for the room to slowly fade once again, and a new torture to begin._

_With a gentle smile, and warm eyes, Barbara appeared before him. “Hey, Dickie.”_

_Dick let out a strangled noise, as his head dropped forward. That look, that gentle voice. It was too_ much.

_“Shh, it’s okay. I know you’re tired. I'm here for you.” Dick could feel a gentle hand petting his hair in much the same way his mother had. Barbara was always a comforting presence to him, with her calm, soothing demeanor. He wanted so desperately for this to be reality. He wanted someone like Barbara telling him it was okay, that he was okay. Feeling a tear slip out, he leaned into the touch._

_Dick could hear the smile in her voice as she said, “That’s it. You’re okay. Everything’s going to be okay.” It was at this point that Dick realized his eyes had slipped closed. He opened them back up, and lifted his head again to fully take in Barbara. That’s when he noticed it._

  
_Barbara was_ standing.

_“Oh, no.” He knew where this was going._

_“Oh yes!” A cheery voice rang out, seconds before a deafening gun shot rang out._

_Barbara yelled out as she collapsed to the ground, accidentally pulling Dick’s hair in the process. Twitching, she stared up at Dick, pain evident all over her face as blood quickly pooled around her. She let out a wet, bloody cough. “Why didn’t you help me? You weren’t there.”_

_“Babs, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Shaking his head, he couldn’t bring himself to tear his eyes away from her. He didn’t even try to warn her. This might have been a hallucination, but just as in reality, he did_ nothing. _He was too busy being selfish, taking in the comforting contact being given to him. It was hard to resist it, he was just so tired, and lonely. It was also hard to deal with everyone he loved hating him, pointing out how much of a fuckup he was. So yeah, he was selfish, and Barbara payed the price. A broken sob was wrenched from him as he saw the blame in her eyes, directed entirely at him. Knowing it was fully deserved blame was almost too much to bear._

_“Aw, you’re crying! That’s tear-ible.” The Joker pouted as he walked closer, pretending to wipe a tear away. Twirling the gun, he grinned as he said, “You are aware your tears are useless, right? I highly doubt they’re going to make her legs work again.”_

_Dick glared at the Joker as another tear escaped, which just made the crazed clown laugh. “Oh, the silent treatment. I thought you would have loved that pun! At least a huff of laughter from the punslinger himself.” He laughed again, before breathing a sigh and carelessly tossing the gun away. “Maybe, we just don’t have the right audience. Babs always was too serious for me.” Snapping his fingers, Jason appeared._

_If Dick was in his right mind, he would be annoyed that the Joker could seemingly control this hallucination because of course he could. Meanwhile, Dick could barely distinguish illusion from reality. The Joker cackled, “Jason! Now, here’s a guy with jokes that can really knock ‘em dead.”_

_Jason looked angry- well, angrier than usual. With a glare that Dick swore would kill him if any of this was real. “You weren’t there, Dick! You didn’t even go to my fucking funeral!”_

_“See? Hilarious!” The Joker let out a maniacal laugh as he patted Jason’s shoulder._

_Dick completely ignored the Joker as he stared at Jason. “I- I didn’t know!” he stuttered out as he was torn between looking at Jason’s angry, hurt face, or Barbara’s blame-riddled, tearful one._

_“Bullshit! You had to have known something was wrong. You didn't even think to check in?” Jason stalked closer, practically shouting in his face. Dick had to drop his gaze, but he cringed once he was staring at Barbara again. It was shown clearly in her expression that she agreed with everything Jason said._

_“This is just such a touching family reunion. And to think, it wouldn’t have been possible if you had cremated this poor fella.” The Joker slung an arm over Jason’s shoulders as he grinned at Dick. “Good thing you weren’t thinking outside the box!” He snickered, and shook Jason as if to get him to join in the laughter._

_Dick was unsure where to focus his attention, so he did what he thought would help- he shut his eyes tight. It felt childish, but he didn’t care. Shutting his eyes didn’t help though, not really. He could still feel Barbara’s blood seeping under his feet, causing them to slip slightly. He could still hear the Joker’s maniacal laughter, and Jason’s shouting. There was no escape for him._

_“You know, your silence a-noise me.” At the sound of the Joker’s voice, Dick slowly opened his eyes back open. He noticed Jason had stopped shouting, and he soon saw why. Jason was on the ground, holding his left leg, face scrunched up in pain. Once he shifted a bit, Dick saw it was broken, the bone sticking through the skin at a weird angle, and blood pouring out thickly through his fingers._

_“When I get annoyed, well. I have to take it out on something!” The Joker twirled the crowbar he had in his hands once before smacking it down on Jason’s leg, causing the bone to break through the skin further. Jason let out a yell of pain before turning himself over onto his stomach, and attempting to crawl away. The Joker just casually placed his foot down on Jason’s leg to keep him pinned there. That ripped another hoarse, broken shout of pain from Jason._

_“Trying to crawl away? You got to be pulling my leg!” The Joker crouched down, grabbed Jason by the leg, and pulled him over so he was laying next to Barbara. Dick could see the smear of blood left behind, over to where Jason’s and Barbara’s blood was now mixing together._

_“How does it feel? To see your failures in this way? To see just how terrible, pathetic, and all around useless you are.” Humming, the Joker kicked Jason in the side, just for the hell of it, apparently. “I think we could do better though. You didn’t exactly see all of the pain this poor, innocent bird went through. We can change that now though!” The look of pure glee was so chilling. “Sit back, relax! And enjoy the show.” His last word was punctuated with another hit of the crowbar, this time to Jason’s arm, where a sickening crunch was heard._

_Jason looked close to passing out from the pain, but he still managed to look directly at Dick as he croaked out, “This is all your fault.”_

_“You weren’t there. You didn’t help us. You’re terrible,” Barbara added in, voice shaky, and quiet._

_“Pathetic.”_

_“Weak._

_“Useless.”_

_The voices mingled in Dick’s head, interspersed with the sounds of Jason’s bones breaking, and Barbara’s bloody coughing. He tried to shut them out, he tried shutting his eyes, he tried everything he could think of to get away from those pained gazes. There was nothing he could do to escape. He had to hang there, listen to everything, and watch as Jason was beaten to death, and Barbara was bleeding out. When unconsciousness took him once again, he welcomed it with open arms._

 

As Dick quieted once again, Jason took a long drink of his beer, trying to figure out exactly what to say. “Dick, I… You know I don't blame you at all, right? And I'm sure Babs doesn’t either. It’s that damned clown’s fault.” And Bruce’s, but he didn’t feel like getting into that particular fight right now.

“I know that,” Dick defensively replied, even though he really didn’t believe it. And from the look on Jason’s face, he knew Dick was lying. Before the younger man could comment on it though, he continued, “But that doesn’t change the fact that I didn’t go to your funeral. I didn’t even know you were dead! I was on another planet!” He still hated Bruce for not telling him, but he hated himself even more for not being there. For not being the brother he was supposed to be. “And I've hurt Babs, Jay. I've hurt her in so many ways, that I honestly don’t know how she still puts up with me.”

Jason wondered exactly what Dick did to hurt Barbara, but he decided now wasn’t the time to pry. Instead, he said, “I don’t know how she puts up with any of us, honestly.” He felt pleased when he received a small laugh from the older man. “Look, Dick. You’ve made mistakes. Everyone does.”

“Are you going to start singing Hannah Montana? Not that I'm objecting, I will gladly join in.”

Jason could hear the grin in Dick’s voice, so he rolled his eyes, and playfully shoved him. “Shut up, I'm trying to be serious here.” Once he was sure he had Dick’s attention again, he continued, “All I'm saying is, you have enough guilt already with actual mistakes you've made.  Don’t take on more where you really shouldn’t. My death was not your fault. What happened to Babs was not your fault. You not attending my funeral was _not your fault._ So, stop blaming yourself.” He knew that wasn’t ultimately going to happen- all the bats were great at shouldering guilt, even when they shouldn’t- but he figured that it was still worth saying. That it might help a bit.

Dick lifted his head off of Jason’s shoulder so he could fully look at him. After a long moment, Dick quietly said, “When did you get so good at this?”

Jason shrugged as he took another drink of his beer. “Maybe it was dying. Maybe it’s just this alcohol finally kicking in. Who the fuck knows?”

“Ah, there’s the eloquent Jason I know and love.” Dick smiled as he leaned back into the couch.

“Yeah, yeah.” There was quiet for a bit, both men just enjoying the peaceful silence. Jason hated to break it, but, “So, one more hallucination, huh?”

The smile that was on Dick’s face fell, along with his gaze as he remembered his last hallucination. This one was going to be the hardest to talk about. He didn’t even think he _could_ talk about it. It made him sick to his stomach just to think on it. Maybe they could just skip it? “Yeah, but honestly I don’t even really remember it.”

Jason’s eyebrow quirked up as he stared at Dick. “You don’t honestly expect me to believe that, do you?”

“Yes?” Dick asked, keeping his head dropped forward, and looking at Jason through his bangs.

Sighing, Jason rested his arm over Dick’s shoulders, and pulled him into his side. He knew Dick was a physical person, loved human contact, wrapping and clinging onto things like a fucking octopus. If Dick was hesitant to share this hallucination after all the other fucked up things he had told Jason tonight, it had to be bad. And Jason would be damned if he turned Dick away now, left him to deal with this on his own.

In a soft voice, almost whispering, Jason said, “I already gave you an out. If you don’t want to tell me, you don’t have to.”

The reassuring voice, and being pressed against Jason’s side seemed to be Dick’s breaking point. It’s what he had been craving the past week. Someone to listen to him, to help him, to reassure him he wasn’t utter trash. He wrapped his arms around Jason, and felt a tear escape as he nuzzled into his side. “I-" His voice was thick, so he cleared his throat before trying again. “I want to tell you but, you’ll leave, and as selfish as it is, I don’t want you to leave.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

Dick let out a small, teary laugh at that. “You haven’t even heard what I've had to say yet.”

Squeezing him tighter, Jason repeated, “I’m not going anywhere.”

Dick wanted so desperately to believe that, but he just couldn’t. Still, he figured Jason deserved to know, if only so he would then know that he needed to leave. That Dick was toxic to be around. Closing his eyes, he quietly said, “This one was the worst. As hard as it was to deal with the others, I was passive in them. This one… well.” He was quiet for a few more moments before continuing on.

 

_Waking up this time was different. For one, there were voices in the room, talking low. Dick kept his breathing even, and low, so that they would think he was still unconscious as he strained to hear what they were saying._

_“This is the last dose. He’s still not talking, Mike,“ one man said. Dick recognized the voice as belonging to that Pete guy that was mentioned before._

_The other man, Mike apparently, responded, “This dose is supposed to be the worst. If he doesn’t talk after this one, I’m sure we can find some other use for him.” There was a pause where Dick figured they were looking over at him. “He has to be ready to talk soon. He’s been starved, beaten, emotionally tortured. I’ve seen people break for less.”_

_“Ah, but you’re forgetting he was trained by the Bat.”_

_“He’s still just a man, ain’t he?” Dick could tell the silence this time was Pete not entirely believing that. So Mike continued, “Just watch him, alright? When he wakes up, see if he’s ready to talk. If not, give him the last dose.” With that, Dick heard the door open, and close._

_Pete sighed, and sat down heavily in the chair. Dick gave it a few minutes before lifting his head. “So, they got you on babysitting duty, eh?” His voice made him want to cringe, it sounded so scratchy and cracked. Almost a full week of screaming with very little water would do that to a person._

_The man grinned at him as he stood up. “Calling yourself a baby there, pretty bird?”_

_“Well, if I am, this place has terrible womb service.” He tried to force his face into a grin, but he knew it probably looked more like a sneer._

_“Don’t you ever tire of the puns?” Pete asked, exasperated look taking over his features._

_“Nope, I always try to roll them out.” He tried to chuckle at that, but it just resulted in a coughing fit, and a hurt chest. “If only I was a baby, I could have called in the infantry.”_

_The man shook his head, and exhaled a long suffering breath. “So I take it you're still not talking?”_

_“About Batman? Sure, I can talk about him.” Dick was almost able to let out a real smile at Pete’s hopeful look, but he quickly rethought that as his chapped lips split. Again. “That guy has quite the battitude.”_

_Pete’s face quickly dropped as he picked up that fourth, and final syringe. “At this point, I think you just enjoy pain.”_

_Dick would have made yet another joke, but the sight of the syringe made him feel nauseous. He couldn’t even pretend that it didn’t affect him at this point. His breathing picked up as he watched the needle get closer, and closer. Time seemed to slow down as panic began setting in, so he quickly shut his eyes hoping it would help calm him. It didn’t._

_When the man stabbed the fourth injection into his neck, Dick was teetering on the edge of hysteria. Having to watch all of his loved ones at their worst, having them tell him every single aspect of him was garbage, was taking a severe toll on him. So for the fourth injection, Dick wondered if it would actually kill him. He wearily opened his eyes, and was surprised to see Koriand’r kneeling in front of him, her hand gently stroking his cheek._

_“Oh Dick, how do you get yourself into these situations?” She asked him gently. Dick leaned into the touch, a welcome change. He knew it wouldn't last long at all, but he had to grab onto whatever comfort he could find at this point. But of course, the injections didn't bring comfort, they brought up fears and pain, so the comfort didn't last long._

_“If you were a better detective, you most likely would not have wound up here.” Kori's voice cooed at him, and he shuddered. “And maybe we could have stayed together.” She added. Kori changed shape, shifting into the ex-Titan Mirage._

_“But then we wouldn't have had so much fun that night, right Dickie?” Mirage laughed, digging her nails into Dick's face. Dick wanted to protest, say that it hadn't been fun, that he hadn't_ wanted _anything to-_

 

Here Dick stopped talking. He couldn’t do this. He didn't want to tell Jason about this last one, didn't want to tell anyone about this. He hadn't told anyone what had happened with Mirage, and especially not what happened with Tarantula. Well, he reflected, that wasn't quite true. He had told Roy what had happened with Mirage. Dick’s teammates had blamed him for what had happened, and he had been hoping for someone to understand. Roy hadn't.

“Dick?” Jason brought Dick out of his thoughts. “Dick, what happened with Mirage.” His tone was flat, and Dick had a feeling that Jason had figured it out.

“It's…” Dick swallowed, his mouth suddenly feeling dry. Should he tell Jason? What if Jason finally saw what a failure Dick was, what if he finally left him? Dick knew it was a only a matter of time, really. But he didn't want to be alone, because he was selfish, and lonely. So lonely. But he had to be honest. If Jason finally realized what a pitiful failure Dick was and left him, it would be for the best.

“I'll explain everything when I finish.” Dick promised, and Jason nodded reluctantly. Dick quickly chugged down the beer, grimacing at the taste. He was more of a fruity drink kind of guy, but he needed something in his system if he was going to do this. Taking a deep breath, Dick continued on.

 

_Mirage laughed, mocking him cruelly._

_“You'll never be able to make Batman proud. How could he be proud of someone who couldn't tell the difference between his own girlfriend and a fake? How could he be proud of you for breaking the number one rule?” She grinned sharply at him, and Dick felt arms tight around his waist. He wanted to cry, to scream, to fight back, but part of him knew it was only a hallucination. It didn't help that he was physically weak after only being given the bare minimum of food and water for him to survive for the past week._

_“Remember, mi amor? Remember how you moved aside and let me kill that pathetic man?” Tarantula whispered in his ear, her fingers trailing across his suit. “Do you remember, quierdo, how we made love on the roof in the rain that night? His blood splattered on us, the rain washing it away… Do you remember, quierdo?” Tarantula searched for his zipper, and all Dick could think was_ no _, he was not going to let this happen again, he was not going to let her touch him again, and he screamed bloody murder, and lashed out. He fought as hard as he could, Mirage and Tarantula’s laughter twisting together into one, a duet of cruelty. He screamed and screamed and screamed, kicking out and thrashing around, refusing to stay still this time, refusing to let this happen again. Distantly he heard voices panic, heard someone order someone else to restrain him, but he didn't care. He would get away from them, and they wouldn't_ touch _him again, and if he had to die to get away, then so be it._

 

Dick stopped. He couldn't look at Jason, not after everything he had said. He had noticed that at some point he pulled away from Jason’s side, but he didn’t think he could go back now. Jason would push him away, reject him. Besides, Dick didn’t deserve comfort, or reassurance.

“And then I managed to break myself out.” Dick said in a flat voice.

Jason didn’t register that last sentence, he was too busy trying to process everything else. He knew that Dick got his fair share of looks, comments, and occasional touches, but he had no idea he had actually been _raped._ Which was what happened to him, plain and simple. Which begged the question, “Dick, have you told anybody else about this? About what happened?"

“Well, considering that hallucination happened just this week, yesterday I think… no?” He knew Jason wasn’t referring to the hallucination, but he really didn’t want to elaborate more than he had to. He was honestly surprised Jason was even still here, listening to him.

Noticing the deflection, Jason moved closer, and rested his hand gently atop Dick’s. He couldn’t let this go, he couldn’t leave Dick to deal with this on his own after so long of holding it in. Locking their gazes, he asked again, “Have you told anyone else about Mirage, and Tarantula?”

  
Dick wanted to look away. He wanted to change the subject, make a joke, completely forget everything he just told Jason, and move on. But he knew he couldn’t. He desperately wanted someone to understand everything, to tell him it wasn’t entirely his fault, even if he knew there was a slim chance Jason actually would. He was to blame, after all. He should have been a better detective, been stronger. Smarter. But he wasn’t, and that cost him two amazing relationships. Three really, if he counted Roy as he was sure the man broke up with him after realizing Dick couldn’t be trusted.

Swallowing hard, Dick eventually was able to rasp out, “Mirage, yes. Tarantula, no.” He had learned from Mirage. Obviously he wanted it, how could he not? Like Dick would ever refuse a gorgeous woman. He shut his eyes tight, and started shaking as the thoughts assaulted his mind.

_You are supposed to be a great detective, Dick. How did you not notice the difference? You obviously just wanted it. And to think, you couldn’t fight off someone that was holding you down? After training with the Batman himself? Yeah, right._

Jason noticed how badly Dick was trembling. At a loss, he did the first thing that came to mind- he hugged Dick. He pressed him tight against his chest, and whispered against his hair, “You’re okay. I’m here, and you’re okay.”

The hug wrenched a broken sob from Dick. Breaking down, he wrapped his arms tight around Jason. He knew he didn’t deserve this, that it would be taken from him at any moment. So, he enjoyed it while it lasted. He cried, knowing his tears were completely soaking Jason’s chest. He didn’t even fully comprehend the words spilling out from him as he said, “I hurt them, Jay! I hurt them both so much, and I’m poisonous to be around. I always mess up, I always hurt the ones I claim to love the most. And I- I just…” He trailed off as another sob forced itself out of him.

Dick was talking way too fast for Jason to fully understand everything he was saying, but he got the gist of it. He didn’t know much about this Mirage, and Tarantula situation, but he did know that Dick was taking on more blame for the situations than he should have been. He wanted to fully understand, so that he could properly comfort him. Fully understand what was hurting him. “Shh, just slow down. Explain it to me, I promise I'll understand.”

Shaking his head, Dick clutched onto Jason tighter, drawing as much comfort as he could before it was gone. He knew he was being self-centered, but he needed this. Had needed it for so long. He knew Jason would never understand. Roy had said the same thing, and he knew how well that had turned out. “Please, I can’t. I can’t go through this again. I can’t lose this.” I can’t lose you, too went unsaid.

“Dick-"

“I already know, okay!?” Dick abruptly pulled away from Jason, and buried his face in his hands. “I already know it was my fault! I know I hurt Kori, I hurt Babs. I cheated on them, and I can’t take it back. I fuck up the good things in my life, and I’m a danger to everyone. I’m too much of a flirt, I’m too much of a hopeless romantic, and I… I’ll never change. I'll always be an unreliable, pathetic fuckup.”

Stunned into silence, Jason stared at Dick for a few long moments. He had never seen this side of him, had never heard these words spill out of him. Dick had always seemed so happy. So confident, and loving. He almost couldn’t believe this was the same person.

“Dick, I don’t know much about what happened. But what I do know is what you described to me? What I was able to figure out? Is that you were taken advantage of.”

Dick lifted his head at those words. He had never heard someone say that to him before. His brow furrowed as he quietly asked, “What?”

“Well, Mirage could shapeshift, right?” At Dick’s nod, he continued, “So of course you couldn’t tell it was Kori. Great detective or not, shapeshifters are meant to be deceiving. Of course you would be fooled. Hell, _Bruce_ could probably get fooled by a shapeshifter. They’re devious little bastards.”

His last words didn’t get the smile, or laugh he was looking for, but Dick was staring at him with round eyes, that seemed glossy with an indescribable emotion. Jason figured he should continue, since his words seemed to help Dick a little bit.

“As for Tarantula, I don’t know the full story behind that, but it sounds like you were in a compromised situation.” Something involving a murder, which he still couldn’t fully imagine Dick involved in something like that. But he imagined if he was, it would take quite a toll on his Dickiebird.  

Here, Dick decided to speak up. “She… she had just killed Blockbuster. And I- I stood by, and let her. I did nothing to stop her.”

Blockbuster was a name Jason did recognize. The psycho targeted Dick, tried to completely destroy his life by blowing up his apartment building, and burning down Haly’s. Honestly, from what Jason knew, the creep definitely deserved to die, but he figured Dick didn’t want to hear that right now.

“My point exactly. You and murder don’t exactly mix well.” That was putting it lightly. He could imagine Dick being completely frozen with shock, guilt, panic, and who the fuck knew what else. It would be child’s play to take advantage of Dick in that situation. “You were a victim, Dick. In both instances. Don’t ever think anything different.”

Now that. That Dick definitely didn’t believe. The words still gripped around his heart though. Squeezing so tight, he swore he was going to have an actual heart attack. Did someone actually understand? Did someone finally think he wasn’t entirely to blame? It had to be too good to be true. “But I- I could have-"

“No, you couldn’t.” Reaching out, Jason gently grabbed onto Dick’s shoulders. Once he was sure the touch was okay, he gave a firm squeeze, and made direct eye contact. “You were taken advantage of. You were a victim in all of this. It wasn’t your fault.”

At this point, Dick was just so tired. Tired, emotionally drained, and Jason still hadn’t left. He hadn’t left, and he was actually taking Dick’s side in everything. It would of course take more than just one night to fully recover from everything, but it was still a start. Though, he was still worried Jason would push him away, so he quietly asked, “Can… can I hug you?”

Instead of responding, Jason just drew Dick into another hug, clenching his arms tight around him. “You never have to ask, Dickie.”

Letting out another broken whimper, Dick grasped at Jason just as tightly. He was still amazed that he was allowed this, after everything he admitted.

It was uncertain just how long the two stayed like that, but eventually Dick pulled away. He glanced towards the clock, and saw it was about three in the morning.

Jason saw the look, and took it to mean it was time for him to go. Dick probably wanted to be alone, and didn’t need Jason. They had already gone over everything that had happened, there was no reason for him to stay. Standing up, he winced once weight was put back on his ankle. He had forgotten about it. Getting back to one of his safehouses was going to be a bitch.

Panic started setting in as Dick saw Jason stand. The inevitable had come, Jason was leaving him. He quickly searched for something, anything to get him to stay. “You’re leaving? Doesn’t your ankle still hurt?”

“I'll live. Getting off of it for a while seemed to help.” Shit, he also didn’t have his shirt, or jacket anymore. Stupid bullet wound.

  
“But- I…” He racked his brain, trying to think of something else to get Jason to stay. Dick _needed_ him to stay.

“Look, Dickie, I really don’t want to overstay my welcome. I'll be fine, I'll get out of your hair.” He wasn’t going to be added to that list of people that took advantage of Dick at his low points. Resolutely avoiding Dick’s gaze, he grabbed his domino, and helmet up off the floor, moving to put them on.

Before he could though, Dick was standing in front of him, holding onto his wrist. “Please stay, Jay. I need you to stay. I can’t be by myself right now.”

Jason searched Dick’s face as he breathed out, “I shouldn’t-"

“ _Please.”_

Hearing the panicked, wrecked plea broke down the last of Jason’s defense, and he gave a small nod. “Okay. Okay, I'll stay.” He dropped his helmet and mask once again, and offered Dick a small smile.

Dick returned it before pulling the younger man into another hug. This one was much shorter though as he knew Jason needed to get off his ankle again. “I don’t know about you, but I'm exhausted. Let’s head to bed.” Using his grip on Jason’s wrist, he began pulling the other man to the bedroom, helping him limp his way there.

Jason tried to ignore the way his heart sped up, or the way his face flushed at realizing Dick was saying they were going to sleep in the same bed together. Dick was just scared of nightmares, and Jason was the only one around that could provide some comfort. He was a means to an end, nothing else. Besides, after everything Dick had shared tonight, now was _not_ the time to admit to his stupid feelings. Not that he had any, thank you very much.

When they finally got to the bedroom, Dick let go of Jason to peel off the rest of his uniform, stripping down to his boxers. He slid under the covers before looking back at Jason, who was still standing awkwardly at the edge of the room. “You going to change out of your pants, or do you need me to help?”

His ankle. Jason knew Dick was asking that because of his ankle. It didn’t stop his face from heating up even further. His brain was fried, so instead of a snarky response, he just mumbled, “I got it.” Thankful that the room was dark, he removed his pants, before moving over to the other side of the bed, and sliding in next to Dick. He laid stiffly on his back, even as Dick scooted closer, snuggled up to his side, and rested his head on Jason’s chest.

“Thank you, Little Wing.” For being there, for listening, for not leaving. For _understanding._ “For everything.”

At the words, Jason finally relaxed, wrapping his arms around Dick, and pulled him in closer. “Anytime, Dickiebird.” He could feel Dick smile against his chest, causing his own smile to grow. Maybe things would start to get better, for both of them. “Now go the fuck to sleep.”

Huffing out a laugh, Dick let his eyes slip closed. “Whatever you say, Jay.” Hearing Jason’s heartbeat, and feeling his chest rise and fall, Dick was able to fall into a peaceful sleep, smile on his face.

\---

Surprisingly, neither of them woke up to nightmares. That didn’t stop them from getting a rude awakening though in the form of Jason’s phone ringing.

Blearily, Jason turned his head to see the alarm clock. He cringed when he saw it was six in the morning. It was too fucking early for this.

Dick groaned as he rolled away from Jason, burying his face in his pillow to get away from the sound. “Answer your phone. I want to sleep.”

“And you think I don’t?” Still, Jason sat up, pulled his pants closer to him, and rummaged around in his pockets until he found his phone. He mentally cursed as he saw who it was, and answered the call. He grunted out a greeting as he collapsed back onto the pillow.

“Jason! Sorry to call so early, but Dick was apparently kidnapped by these traffickers, and-"

“Yeah, Replacement. I know.” Dragging a hand down his face, he turned his head when he felt Dick shift beside him, the other man now staring at him. He smiled before tuning back into what Tim was saying.

  
“Oh. Well, you don’t sound very concerned about it…” Jason could hear the confusion in Tim’s voice. He couldn’t blame him, Jason had flipped out on them last night when they told him Dick was missing in the first place. _Holy shit, was that really just last night?_

“Maybe it’s because I know he’s safe.”

The surprise in Tim’s voice was evident. “You know where he is? Are you with him? Is he hurt? Where-"

His last question was cut off as Jason heard in the background, “He’s talking to _Todd_ of all people!?”

Oh, Demon Spawn was around too. Great. Jason rolled his eyes as Tim tried to calm Damian down. Finally, Tim spoke to him again. “Do you know where he is?”

Jason was silent for a moment as he turned once again to look at Dick. The older man seemed to know what he was asking, and his response came in the form of once again curling up against Jason’s side. Pulling him in, Jason smiled again as he responded, “He’s with me.”

There was a brief moment of silence where Jason swore he could hear the gears in Tim’s mind working. Finally, he slowly said, “Oh. Okay. Can we, um, talk to him?”

Once again, Jason looked down at Dick. He wasn’t sure if Dick had just heard, or if he once again understood Jason’s look, but either way, he gave a slight shake of his head. “He’s sleeping right now.”

Tim could hear the lie in Jason’s voice, but he accepted it. “Okay. Have him call us back when he wakes up.”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Cool, thanks.” There was a bit of hesitation before Tim added, “And Jason? I'm happy for you.”

That threw Jason for a loop. His brow furrowed as he began absentmindedly rubbing his hand up, and down Dick’s spine. The touch caused the other man to shiver, and cuddle in closer, which pulled a smirk from Jason. “For what, Replacement?”

“For finally admitting your feelings to Dick.”

The smirk quickly fell as his eyes rounded. His hand stilled, and he almost dropped the phone. _“What?”_

Tim probably didn’t hear that as there was a sudden, loud screech of, “ _F_ _EELINGS!?”_ Jason could hear a fight going on before Damian’s voice came through, yell loud enough to cause Jason to pull the phone away from his ear.

“Todd, you stay away from Grayson! I do not approve! Do you understand!? _I DO NOT APPROVE._ You will pay dearly if you so much as lay a hand on him, and I swear-"  
Whatever creative threat Damian was going to throw at him was interrupted as Jason just hung up the phone. He was tired, it was too early, and now he was sure his face was very, _very_ red. He just prayed that Dick hadn’t heard any of that.

“So, feelings, huh?

Well, fuck.

“Look, don’t make a big deal out of this, okay? Tim doesn’t know what the fuck he’s talking about, and- What?” He stopped his tirade as he noticed Dick had sat up, and was now staring down at him with a smug smirk. Jason wasn’t sure if he wanted to punch, or kiss it off.

Dick shrugged, smirk never leaving. “Oh, nothing. I'm just flattered, Little Wing. Really.” He was loving this. Jason’s blushing face was adorable, and honestly? He would love the chance to be with someone that actually knew about his past, and still _accepted_ him. Still wanted him. Still trusted him. And Dick was definitely not going to complain if that person was Jason.

“Fuck you too, Dickie.” The words had no bite to them though, what with them coming out in almost a mumble. Jason was just too entranced with that smirk. Why did Dick have to be so _attractive?_

The smirk softened as Dick leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to Jason’s lips. He pulled back only slightly, their lips still brushing as he said, “Maybe later. For now, what was it you said earlier? Go the fuck to sleep?” He grinned as he stared into Jason’s stunned eyes.

Jason continued to stare before finally giving an imperceptible nod, and murmured out a, “Yeah, okay.”

Dick gave him another kiss, this one slightly longer, and firmer before pulling back, and dropping his head down on Jason’s chest again. His eyes slipped closed as a content smile took form on his face, and he quickly drifted back off to sleep.

Laying there, staring at the ceiling Jason decided maybe he really should thank Replacement and Demon Spawn. They were part of how he got here. The look on Damian’s face would be worth it alone. That thought made Jason’s lips curl into a grin. With Dick’s kiss still making his lips tingle, and his warmth snug against his side, Jason allowed himself to join the other man in drifting off to sleep.


End file.
